Wicked winter hampers eastern half of country
Storm slicks runways, keeping flights on ground
Schools were closed and travel was disrupted Tuesday as a bitterly cold storm dumped snow and ice across the South before heading northward to take aim on the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
After dumping snow and ice across the South on Tuesday, wreaking havoc on air and road travel, a winter storm will take aim at the Northeast on Wednesday.
The storm will strengthen off the East Coast, dumping as much as 8 inches on portions of New England.
Hundreds of flights were canceled at Texas airports — including Houston, San Antonio and Austin — where frigid temperatures left runways dangerously icy.
Nearly 1,200 flights had been canceled and 1,900 delayed as of Tuesday afternoon, according to flight tracking service FlightAware.
The storm brought some impressive snowfall totals to western Kentucky, the Weather Channel said, including 9 inches in Murray and 8.1 inches in Paducah. Up to a half-foot of snow was measured in east-central Arkansas near Palestine.
Roads were closed across the region because of the hazardous conditions. “We’ve got numerous crashes on the interstates and surface roads,” Louisiana State Trooper Glenn Younger said Tuesday morning from Bossier City, La., just
across the Red River from Shreveport.
In Kentucky, multiple crashes closed a 10-mile section of Interstate 24 on the west side of the state.
Schools were closed in 10 states from Missouri to Georgia.
Children took advantage of the snow in northern Louisiana, which offered some rare sledding opportunities. Those without sleds used cardboard boxes to sail down the snow-covered hills.
“We’re having a great time,” said Michael Ryan of Monroe, La., as his 7-yearold son, Jack, sledded down the Ouachita River levee at Forsythe Park Boat Dock.
In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency. Numerous businesses and government offices closed because of the weather threat.
In the wake of the storm, bitterly cold temperatures were forecast through the central and southern USA. Highs were expected to be near the freezing mark for parts of central Texas. The temperatures are about 20 to 30 degrees below mid-January averages from Texas into the nation’s heartland, the weather service said.
Wind chills were below zero Tuesday for much of the northern Plains and upper Midwest.
Overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday, light snow was expected in the MidAtlantic; 1 to 3 inches is likely.
Hundreds of flights were canceled at Texas airports — including Houston, San Antonio and Austin — where frigid temperatures left runways dangerously icy.